Toshiba Wins Unusual Auditor Sign-Off, Staves Off Delisting

"Toshiba Corp has staved off delisting after its accounting won auditor approval, albeit with a stern rebuke, leaving its listed status largely dependent on whether it can complete the stalled sale of its chip business by March," reports Reuters (Aug. 10, Yamakazi). As a listed entity, the cash-strapped Japanese conglomerate was required to file 2016's finances by June, but delayed because of disagreements with its auditor about multi-billion dollar losses at the now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear power subsidiary Westinghouse. Toshiba now turns its attention on negotiating the sale of its chips unit, currently in dispute. Meanwhile, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC (PwC) on Thursday gave a "qualified opinion" on Toshiba's financial results for the year ended March and for the April-through-June period, broadly vouching for books that contained minor problems. In a rare move, however, PwC also issued a separate "adverse opinion" on corporate governance, saying Toshiba was late in booking Westinghouse losses.